Duration of Fame and Extent of Semantic Knowledge of Famous Names in Cognitively Intact Older Adults.

OBJECTIVE: The greater resilience of older memories relative to recent memories has primarily been demonstrated in clinical groups, but this phenomenon has been less extensively examined in cognitively intact older adults. Additionally, most studies of person-identity have only examined recognition or familiarity of a famous face or name, and there has been less systematic study of access to more specific person-identity semantic knowledge. The current study examined the effect of both memory age and extent of semantic knowledge on famous name recognition and retrieval of person-identity biographical information in healthy older adults. METHOD: We examined recognition accuracy and response time of famous names at three time epochs (recent fame, transitory fame and enduring fame) in cognitively intact older adults. We also compared access to semantic knowledge that differed on the degree of specificity of biographical information: categorical, associative, and attribute knowledge. RESULTS: As predicted, participants recognized transitory famous names more quickly and accurately than recent famous names. Additionally, participants recognized enduring famous names more accurately than transitory famous names and recent names. We also found that categorical semantic knowledge was accessed more quickly and accurately than semantic knowledge for associative and attribute information. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide data on the cognitive structure and retrieval of person-identity knowledge and memory age in older cognitively intact individuals.

Is There a Good App for That? Evaluating m-Health Apps for Strategies That Promote Pediatric Medication Adherence.

BACKGROUND: Mobile health medication reminder apps may be a useful supplement to traditional adherence-promotion interventions for pediatric chronic illness populations because they can give real-time reminders and provide education and promote behavior modification (components known to enhance adherence in traditional interventions) in an engaging and developmentally acceptable way. Moreover, apps have the potential to be used by youth and parents, an important consideration given that shared involvement in condition management is associated with better adherence. INTRODUCTION: This study evaluated the content and usability of existing medication reminder apps operating on the Apple platform. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two researchers coded 101 apps on 15 desirable reminder, educational, and behavioral modification features. Usability testing was conducted with the subset of apps (n = 8) that had the greatest number of content features using a validated measure. RESULTS: Apps contained an average of 4.21 of 15 content features, with medication reminder features being more common than either educational or behavioral modification features. Apps most commonly included a medication name storage feature (95%), a time-based reminder feature (87%), and a medication dosage storage feature (68%). Of the eight apps that had the highest number of content features, Mango Health, myRX Planner, and MediSafe evidenced the highest usability ratings. No apps identified were specifically designed for pediatric use. DISCUSSION: Most apps lacked content known to be useful in traditional pediatric adherence-promotion interventions. Greater attention to educational and behavioral modification features may enhance the usefulness of medication reminder apps for pediatric groups. CONCLUSION: Collaborations between behavioral medicine providers and app developers may improve the quality of medication reminder apps for use in pediatric populations.

Physical activity reduces hippocampal atrophy in elders at genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease.

We examined the impact of physical activity (PA) on longitudinal change in hippocampal volume in cognitively intact older adults at varying genetic risk for the sporadic form of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Hippocampal volume was measured from structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans administered at baseline and at an 18-month follow-up in 97 healthy, cognitively intact older adults. Participants were classified as High or Low PA based on a self-report questionnaire of frequency and intensity of exercise. Risk status was defined by the presence or absence of the apolipoprotein E-epsilon 4 (APOE-ε4) allele. Four subgroups were studied: Low Risk/High PA (n = 24), Low Risk/Low PA (n = 34), High Risk/High PA (n = 22), and High Risk/Low PA (n = 17). Over the 18 month follow-up interval, hippocampal volume decreased by 3% in the High Risk/Low PA group, but remained stable in the three remaining groups. No main effects or interactions between genetic risk and PA were observed in control brain regions, including the caudate, amygdala, thalamus, pre-central gyrus, caudal middle frontal gyrus, cortical white matter (WM), and total gray matter (GM). These findings suggest that PA may help to preserve hippocampal volume in individuals at increased genetic risk for AD. The protective effects of PA on hippocampal atrophy were not observed in individuals at low risk for AD. These data suggest that individuals at genetic risk for AD should be targeted for increased levels of PA as a means of reducing atrophy in a brain region critical for the formation of episodic memories.

Recognition of famous names predicts cognitive decline in healthy elders.

OBJECTIVE: The ability to recognize familiar people is impaired in both Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's Dementia (AD). In addition, both groups often demonstrate a time-limited temporal gradient (TG) in which well known people from decades earlier are better recalled than those learned recently. In this study, we examined the TG in cognitively intact elders for remote famous names (1950-1965) compared to more recent famous names (1995-2005). We hypothesized that the TG pattern on a famous name recognition task (FNRT) would predict future cognitive decline, and also show a significant correlation with hippocampal volume. METHOD: Seventy-eight healthy elders (ages 65-90) with age-appropriate cognitive functioning at baseline were administered a FNRT. Follow-up testing 18 months later produced two groups: Declining (≥ 1 SD reduction on at least one of three measures) and Stable (< 1 SD). RESULTS: The Declining group (N = 27) recognized fewer recent famous names than the Stable group (N = 51), although recognition for remote names was comparable. Baseline MRI volumes for both the left and right hippocampi were significantly smaller in the Declining group than the Stable group. Smaller baseline hippocampal volume was also significantly correlated with poorer performance for recent, but not remote famous names. Logistic regression analyses indicated that baseline TG performance was a significant predictor of group status (Declining vs. Stable) independent of chronological age and APOE ε4 inheritance. CONCLUSIONS: The TG for famous name recognition may serve as an early preclinical cognitive marker of cognitive decline in healthy older individuals.